


Carthago Delenda Est

by soupmetaphors



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Gen, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 05:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4126713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soupmetaphors/pseuds/soupmetaphors
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to M.A.G.I.C ( Multination Agency of Guarding International Cover): An international society dedicated to sweeping horrible events and people off the streets and under the rug for its respective countries, with the help of genetically-altered, practically super-powered ranks of agents. </p><p>Valkyrie Cain of M.A.G.I.C. Ireland hasn't been back on the field since the Incident five years ago, when her twin sister Darquesse took off to join her new 'family'- a bunch of rogue agents hell-bent on bringing M.A.G.I.C. Ireland down after being dismissed for trying to 'change' the way the society worked.</p><p>But when rumors of their return start slithering into her ears, she returns to face her friends, her colleagues, her sister, and even herself.</p><p>[ON INDEFINITE HIATUS]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Five Years Ago

_Dublin was burning. From the sky, Valkyrie reckoned, it must have looked like a section of Ireland was supposed to be colored a fiery red. From the ground level, it was even worst._

 _She stood at one of the avenues, as buildings burned left, right and center, as the screams and shouted commands of other agents blared into her ears via her standard-issue earpiece. All around her, people were screaming and running, hiding and dying. It was utter chaos. Mevolent's group had really_ done _something this time._

 _It was only a matter of time, she knew, until his lot had snapped. But no one had expected it to happen on such a grand scale. Then again, the Catalysts, as they had dubbed themselves, always had a flair for theatrics. Shaking her head, Valkyrie let her gaze flick up and down the street. There was fighting everywhere: M.A.G.I.C. agents against the Cleavers that the Catalyst had recruited. She wasn't going to fight, oh no. She was_ waiting.

_A shout, her name, and she looked to the middle of the street just in time to see her sister ascending from the sky, hands outstretched and palms raised skywards, a group of people with her. Once, Valkyrie would have called them -grudgingly- colleagues, despite how unsettling and violent they were. Now, they were enemies. It didn't sadden her as much as it could have._

_"It's not too late to join us, you know," Darquesse said, when they landed. Her clothes were black, made to stick to the skin, and splashed with someone else's blood. If anything, she and Valkyrie looked identical: Same dark brown hair, same brown eyes, hard to tell apart even as children. Only the wildness in Darquesse's eyes and, amazingly, a touch of naivety, told whom was whom._

_"It's not too late to come_ back _," Valkyrie called back, slowly making her way over. Darquesse didn't look like she was about to rip her sister's head off, which was good. Her companions, however, were a little harder to tell. Nefarian Serpine, hands gloved and eyes glittering, sneered at her when she got close enough, but not too close. Baron Vengeous smiled, menacingly, and Melancholia St. Clair smirked. None of these gestures were particularly intimidating, but what powers that M.A.G.I.C. Labs had boosted them with were._

_The two parties regarded each other, neither making a move. The world could have been ending (it kind of was), and still nothing would have been done. Valkyrie almost wished that the Dead Men were here to back her up and smirk menacingly back. But they were busy keeping Mevolent and Lord Vile at bay: She could hear Skulduggery barking commands, Saracen calling out for them to fall back. And some battles she had to fight her own._

_Darquesse laughed. "It's not as simple as it seems, Valkyrie. I can't just run back to you and leave everything I've worked for behind. This is the beginning of a new era, I'm afraid. And we're the ones ushering it in."_

_"Well, your new era seems to be just fire and brimstone, I'm afraid."_

_"That's just the rough starting," Melancholia cut in, rather abruptly. "Once this is all laid to waste, once you're all gone, we'll step in and assume control."_

_Darquesse nodded, looped her arm through the blonde girl's. "I'm afraid it's time for us to leave. You have a big mess to clean up, and we don't want to hinder you."_

_Before her sister could do anything, however, white lightning streaked from Valkyrie's flung out hands, headed straight towards the Catalysts. She half-expected her sister to move, but Darquesse let the lightning take her full in the chest. It hit her, sent her flying backwards, taking down her companions in the process. Valkyrie took a step forward, a ball of lightning crackling in her hand. She couldn't kill Darquesse, but she sure as hell could maim her._

_She took half a dozen steps forward, closing the gap between her and them. The Catalysts struggled to get up, and Serpine was the fastest. He pulled off the glove of his right hand with his teeth, murder written clearly across his face. All Valkyrie had to do was blast him with lightning before he could raise his hand again, and down he went. She didn't like this fight: It was too fucking easy. It was only when Darquesse propped herself up on her elbows and pointed behind her that she knew exactly why._

_That was also the moment that a huge slab of concrete smashed into Valkyrie. She was flung forward by the sheer force, over the rogue agents and debris, before hitting the ground hard. She skidded, slid a few meters. The world was a big blur, and she did not like it one bit. Already, there was blood running down the side of here face and when she spat, her saliva was red and a tooth fell out. On her hands and knees, the girl struggled to get back up, determined to finish this. Through her earpiece, she thought she heard Anton yell that Mevolent was leaving, and they had to detain him at all costs._

_Hands gripped the back of her jacket, pulled her up, legs kicking the air, and she found herself staring her twin in the eye. "Ah, it's time to go," Darquesse said, rolling her eyes. "The boss has gotten tired of all this shit."_

_"Why are y-" Valkyrie's words twisted into a scream as Darquesse wrenched her arm, bone breaking with an audible crack. Pain shot up her arm, vision going blurry for a few moments. Her chest tightened, teeth gritted, but still the words were spat out. "Why are you doing this?"_

_"Don't tell me you never thought I was going to end up like this eventually, Val. Because that's just a lie you've been feeding everyone your whole life. Now it's my turn."_

_Darquesse threw her aside, like a ragdoll, and she had to endure another few minutes of flying senselessly through the air before getting herself ground into the dust. This time, Valkyrie was much slower getting up, one arm gripping the broken one tightly. Blinked the blood from her eyes, just in time to see her sister and the Catalysts regroup. They joined hands, and rose slowly into the air. Just before they vanished into the clouds and out of sight, she swore that Darquesse had given her a little wink._

_"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery's voice came through to her, tinny and static. "Mevolent and Vile are gone, so I'm probably guessing the rest are too."_

_"My sister went with them," Valkyrie said, still looking up, as if Darquesse would come down at any given moment. "She broke my arm, damn it."_

_"Get back to the front of headquarters and we'll get that seen to. The building's, well, on fire."_

_"I think I'll rest here for a little while. There are probably much worst cases that Kenspeckle and Synecdoche have to attend to."_

_Skulduggery replied, but the words barely registered in her brain. She just simply laid back down on the street and watched the M.A.G.I.C. Ireland headquarters go up in flames._


	2. Present Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Writing in Valkyrie's perspective is oddly tough. Please excuse it. I've been writing Erskine's for too long.

The Ford Fiesta that parked in front of the tall sky-scraping building was a bright orange. It had a very nice dashboard, a very nice smell, and it was relatively clean. The owner had affectionately dubbed it the Oompa Loompa, which was rather appropriate, given the nature of it. 

The woman who stepped out of the said Oompa Loompa was known by two names, and sometimes a third to people who didn't quite remember that she had a twin sister. She didn't have a space in the parking lot behind the building, she was sure, so she tried not to bother to look for one. The easiest thing would be to leave her car outside: In any case, it would be a quick getaway. 

Locking the car with a press of a button, she put her car keys into the pockets of her trousers and headed towards the glass doors of the building. They'd certainly managed to build it up in a short span of five years, she reflected, pushing open one of the doors. The last time she'd seen M.A.G.I.C. Ireland's headquarters, it had been a charred ruin smelling faintly of roasted flesh and ozone. 

Briefly, she wondered what she was doing back here, as her hand came into contact with the handle of the door to her left. She should have stayed in America, in that small town where she had a dog she loved and a man called Danny that she'd called friend. But even way out in Meek Ridge, Valkyrie Cain still couldn't keep away from M.A.G.I.C. Her sister was out there, anyways. And her friends. She'd even checked in with M.A.G.I.C. America once or twice just to make sure that she didn't need to attend any funerals. 

(She did. M.A.G.I.C. agents had died in that bloody battle against the Catalysts and the Cleavers. But by the time all the bodies had been identified, Valkyrie had stepped out into the normal world, went back to being Stephanie Edgely. When she arrived home yesterday, her mother had simply pressed a funeral program into her hand, wrinkled and creased with time. She still hadn't worked up the guts to look at each and every name of the fallen.) 

Pushing away the thought, Valkyrie pushed open the door and stepped into the interior of the building with a deep intake of breath. A rush of cold air as she let the door swing shut behind her, and she took a moment to look at the new headquarters. She thought of the headquarters as a sort of hive, the agents walking in every direction sort of worker bees. She honestly didn't know where to start, or what to do. After all, the Council had demanded to see her first when she'd informed them that she'd be coming in. 

Walked up to the reception desk, swerving past Sensitives with colorful bangles and beads dangling around their neck, younger agents giggling over some private joke, a group of black-clad individuals with shadows nipping playfully at their heels. Valkyrie vaguely recognized the agent on duty, and wasted no time when she got close enough. 

"Staven," she said, flashing a smile. "How've you been? Uh, I'm pretty sure you remember me, it hasn't been _that_ long." 

Staven Weeper looked up from the computer behind his desk, squinting. When he saw who it was, the color drained from his face, terror visible in his eyes, and only when Valkyrie hurriedly said that she _wasn't_ Darquesse, did he relax and smile sheepishly back. "Oh, Valkyrie. I,uh, it's good to see you again. I'll, uh, just alert Tipstaff that you're here. He's better at this than I am." 

He spoke quietly into his earpiece, then returned to his work without looking at her, face still red. She pretended not to notice, leaning against the desk with her back to him. At least no one else had thought she was Darquesse. _Yet_. It was both quite horrifying and some times oddly amusing. Thankfully, she was saved from the awkward silence by a hand tapping her shoulder. 

"Agent Cain," Tipstaff said, when she turned. "The Council has already assembled in the conference room. I'll take you to them." 

"It's nice to see you too, Tipstaff," she answered, but he'd already turned and was headed towards the elevators several paces away from the reception desk. She followed him with a quiet sigh: It was nice to get back to familiarity. Another home, really. 

They got in, the doors closing after the Administrator had pressed the button for the floor second to the top, incidentally the conference room. The elevator rose upwards, smoothly: Valkyrie barely felt like judder. After a few seconds, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open silently, revealing the room to her, which was the entire conference room itself. There were tinted windows that replaced a section of the wall, a coffee machine to one side and a few armchairs. In the middle of the room was the longest conference table that she'd seen. It probably could have fit twenty people, but there were three chairs at one end and one on her's. Three chairs were occupied. 

The occupants of the three chairs looked at Valkyrie and Valkyrie looked at the occupants of the three chairs. She didn't move. 

"You should go," Tipstaff murmured, and she realized that the doors hadn't shut because he had his thumb jammed on the 'open' button. 

So Valkyrie nodded, once, and walked right out towards that lone chair that awaited her. Sitting down, she put her hands on the table and cleared her throat. "Uh, good morning, I guess." 

"Welcome back, Agent Cain," the man at the head of the table greeted. Eachan Meritorious's hair was white and the dark eyes that looked at her hadn't lost their sharpness since the day she'd come to M.A.G.I.C. 

The woman seated on his right - Morwenna Crow in a cloak that seemed to be made of living shadows, writhing and bobbing- and the man on his left - Sagacious Tome in sky blue and fidgety- said nothing. Valkyrie's eyes flicked to the thick file that the Council had between them. There was a black and white photo on it, and she knew, instinctively, that it was her's. It was probably Tome's idea: He loved theatrics more than Nefarian Serpine did, and that certainly said something. 

"Yeah, thanks. But I don't think it'll be for very long," she said, trying not to begin drumming her fingers on the table. "I'm just here to check out what my sis- Darquesse has been doing, try to stop her. Save the world, if needed, heh." 

"She's been laying low," Crow spoke up, voice like it was carried on the wind. "But her Catalysts have been wreaking havoc at the most unlikeliest of moments. And lately, those moments have been occurring more and more frequently. Something's happening." 

"The last known incident happened about five days ago, in Asia. Cleavers invaded one of M.A.G.I.C. Japan's labs by the coastline, slaughtered every agent in sight. No one knew until someone from the headquarters dropped by for a routine inspection," Meritorious continued. "Their agents are still looking into what they took." 

"They've been getting more powerful with each year," Tome spoke, finally, not bothering to even glance in her direction. "No, not even year, perhaps _week_." 

Her teeth gritted, involuntarily. Hearing Tome's tone always did that to her, but she forced herself to relax and speak. "I'd like permission to go after my sister. See what she's been up to, and perhaps stop it if it's something to worry." 

Tome snorted. " _If it's something to worry_. Aside the fact that your sister is basically a god, that's completely fine, I suppose." 

Meritorious waved a hand, silencing his colleague, as Valkyrie glowered at him from across the table. One little twitch of her hand, she thought, angrily. One little twitch to send him from the chair to the floor, white lightning striking him. Hands withdrew from the table top and onto her lap as the Council turned their attention from her and begin to discuss among themselves, in voices that were too low to hear. The woman closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back in the chair. She wondered why it was so hard to let her go: Darquesse, despite everything, was still family. Was still the sister whom she'd played with and fought with, back when her name was Stephanie Edgely. There was nothing hard to understand. 

After what seemed like an eternity, sitting there in the conference room with her eyes closed and her ass hurting, Valkyrie was alerted of the Council's decision when Meritorious addressed her. Eyes snapped open to see the Council gazing at her, and she did not say a word, just waited for them to speak. 

"We need time to think," he said, and she _knew_ it, she knew that it always came down to waiting for something that would never come. "We'll ask Tipstaff to inform you. This is something you can't merely ask of us immediately." 

Valkyrie stood, pushing back the chair. Thanked them as politely as she could without letting too much disappointment show. They let her go without another word, and she could feel their gazes trained on her back as she entered the elevator and pressed the floor for the gym. She could use a little time punching things, yes, that seemed nice. And maybe she'd even see some of the Dead Men, which was good. 

But that aside, the Council needed to make that decision quick, before she took in into her own hands. 


End file.
